Endless Loading Screen
The endless loading prank is a plain grey screen and a spinner that never, ever stops. No content, no progress, no end. It works best somewhere nobody feels they have the authority to force-quit — a shared office laptop, a meeting-room display, a machine that isn't theirs.
It's the quietest prank we have, and that's the point: there's nothing alarming to react to, so people just wait. Want an obvious cause for the wait? The fake Windows update at least explains itself. Want something that looks broken instead of busy? Try Boot Device Not Found.
Press F11 for maximum realism. Tap or press Esc to exit.
Add the prank to their home screen and it runs like a real app — no browser bar, no tabs, no URL, nothing to give it away.
How to use the endless loading screen prank
- Tap Launch Full-Screen Prank above (or press F11 once it's running).
- Leave the device where your victim will find it. It'll look completely real.
- When they panic, tap the screen or press Esc to reveal it was a joke.
For laughs only. Nothing here installs, downloads or damages anything — it's all harmless CSS/JS in the browser. It's a staple of April Fools' Day pranks and works any day of the year. Just keep it kind — see what makes a good prank.
Frequently asked questions
How do you make a fake loading screen?
Open this page and press F11 for fullscreen. The spinner runs indefinitely on its own — it's a normal web animation with nothing behind it, so there's nothing to configure or start.
Is anything actually loading?
Nothing at all. That's the joke — it's pure animation, waiting on content that will never arrive, which is exactly what a genuinely hung application looks like from the outside.
Why is an endless spinner more annoying than an error message?
Because an error gives you permission to act. A spinner implies something is still working, so people keep waiting rather than restarting — the same reason a stalled progress bar is worse than a crash.
How long will it run for?
Indefinitely, until the tab is closed or Esc is pressed. It doesn't time out, give up, or eventually show an error, because there's no request behind it to fail.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes — the spinner is centred and scales to any screen, so it looks identical on mobile. On a phone it reads as an app that's hung rather than a slow website, especially if you add it to the home screen so no browser bar shows.
Will it drain the battery?
Barely. It's a lightweight CSS animation rather than video or heavy JavaScript, so it uses roughly what any idle web page would. You can leave it running for hours without noticeably affecting a laptop.
Can I use it as a placeholder or a prop?
Yes — it's handy as a stand-in loading state when filming, streaming or demoing something, since it looks generic enough to pass for almost any app.
How do I stop it?
Press Esc or close the tab. Nothing was running, so there's nothing to cancel and nothing to clean up afterwards.